IT SEEMS to me that it smacks of hypocrisy for the UK government to accuse China of failing to adhere to the Joint Declaration which guaranteed, when Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, that 'its existing capitalist system and way of life would remain unchanged for 50 years, until 2047' - when the government's Internal Market Bill is in clear breach of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union.

There is nothing wrong with adopting the moral high ground, but when one does, one needs to make damn sure that one's feet are firmly planted on solid ground and not mired in quicksand.

I am an unapologetic Brexiteer - but am not so blinkered that I fail to acknowledge that the Internal Market Bill contravenes international law and, if it goes ahead, will do irreparable damage to the United Kingdom's reputation on the world stage.

Sadly, in seeking to unilaterally 'amend' a previously ratified agreement, we are doing exactly what those of us who voted to quit the EU, have been accusing Brussels of doing for the last three or four decades.

Bob Readman

Bournemouth